The March 2019 monthly traffic update by Auckland Airport shows no growth or loss in total passenger numbers in March compared to the same time last year.
March 2019 shows 1,869,312 total passengers, almost the same as the 1,868,417 passengers from March 2018.
The total passenger number in the 12 months total up to March was 21,021,062 – only slightly up from the previous 12 months total of 20,385,930.
This year, the timing of Chinese New Year was shifted to early February, impacting international passenger growth. Easter and school holiday period ran in mid-April this year, resulting in Australian and Chinese visitor arrivals in March being down by 11.6% and 9.0% respectively compared to 2018.
There has been a 3.7% and 7.1% drop in international export and import respectively, and the total cargo number dropped 5.3%. However, the total cargo value in New Zealand dollars rose 9.6%.
The number for aircraft movements and maximum certified take-off weight (MCTOW) stayed relatively similar to last year’s results.
International passengers were down 0.7%, while domestic passengers grew by 1.1% compared to March 2018. Auckland Airport say domestic passenger growth was predominantly driven by additional capacity, particularly on the Auckland-Queenstown route, with over 8000 seats added.
